Mama's Wreaths

The kitchen at Joanie’s mountain home is filled with fresh fir and hemlock branches, evergreens that Mama will use as she makes wreaths to sell before Christmas. Joanie is eager to learn to make wreaths like Mama’s. As Mama patiently guides her, Joanie learns not only about wreath making, but also about trust and joy—lessons entwined with fragrant evergreen. Joanie’s story unfolds through a garland of gentle free verse poems that readers of all ages will savor.

Mama’s Wreaths speaks to the heart of persons whose lives are neither glamorous nor ordinary, and it affirms the importance of their uniquely rich experience. As are Julia Taylor Ebel’s other books, Mama’s Wreaths is inspired by the experiences of real people—in this case, the wreath-making experiences of young writer M. Joann Moretz and her family. Mama’s Wreaths invites us all to look with gentle hearts toward those unseen faces and unheard stories of so many who touch our lives with joy.

In Mama’s Wreaths, Julia Taylor Ebel’s dedication to keeping cultural stories shines through as it does in her six previous books. Through slices of life, she reminds us of the importance of passing on the knowledge, traditions, and stories we value.

Enhanced by Joann’s keen eye for detail and Julia’s delicate pencil sketches, Mama’s Wreaths is a heartwarming story to be read and shared at Christmas and throughout the year.

Advance Praise for Mama's Wreaths:

“Beautifully crafted as one of ‘Mama’s wreaths, this charming collection of narrative poems, strung together like cranberries on a Christmas tree, will draw you in from the very first line. Against the stunning backdrop of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, we meet a rugged family with a long tradition of wreath-making, a skill handed down from mother to daughter through many generations. But making wreaths isn’t the only lesson learned in this enchanting series of poems as young ‘Joanie’ begins her journey toward womanhood by following in her mother’s footsteps. Inspiring, warm and authentic, the story of Mama’s Wreaths will quickly enfold you in its pine-scented arms—become a family tradition as beloved as placing a wreath on your own front door.” —Terri Kirby Erickson, author of In the Palms of Angels

“Mama’s Wreaths tells the story of a young girl who learns a traditional and important skill known to women of the southern mountains. It is not an easy skill and she is proud to learn it from her mother and to cherish it later in life. The story is old and true—and fresh and new. Every page that Julia Taylor Ebel and Joann Moretz set down here smells like Christmas.” —Fred Chappell, author of Shadow Box

“Julia Ebel’s sensitive poem story opens a window into an earlier time in the North Carolina mountains, when nature provided the makings for holiday traditions and for an added source of income. Young Joanie strives to take her place among generations of mountain wreath makers, who preserved those traditions through creativity and hard work. The simplicity of Joanie’s voice rings true, and her fears, longings and insights resonate beyond life in the mountains. Mama’s Wreaths is a Christmas story and more. One is reminded of Ebel’s earlier work, Dresses, Dreams and Beadwood Leaves. She paints her resilient young protagonists, their families and the magnificent mountain landscape with a delicate brush, revealing beauty of place and character honed by the demands of mountain living.” —Patricia Koehler, co-author of Oakdale Cotton Mill